American Standard Version
1 John 4:12
12No man hath beheld God at any time: if we love one another, God abideth in us, and his love is perfected in us:
1 John 4:12 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
- New International Version (NIV)No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
- English Standard Version (ESV)No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
- New King James Version (NKJV)No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.
Context of 1 John 4:12
10Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No man hath beheld God at any time: if we love one another, God abideth in us, and his love is perfected in us: 13hereby we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. 14And we have beheld and bear witness that the Father hath sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.
Read all of 1 John 41 John 4:12 word by word
θεὸν οὐδεὶς πώποτε τεθέαται· ἐὰν ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλήλους, ὁ θεὸς ἐν ἡμῖν μένει καὶ ἡ ἀγάπη αὐτοῦ ἐν ἡμῖν τετελειωμένη ἐστίν.Read the interlinear
Cross-references for 1 John 4:12
- 1 John 4:20If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, cannot love God whom he hath not seen.
- Genesis 32:30And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for, said he, I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
- Exodus 33:20And he said, Thou canst not see my face; for man shall not see me and live.
- Numbers 12:8with him will I speak mouth to mouth, even manifestly, and not in dark speeches; and the form of Jehovah shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant, against Moses?
- John 1:18No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
- 1 Timothy 1:17Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
- 1 Timothy 6:16who only hath immortality, dwelling in light unapproachable; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power eternal. Amen.
- Hebrews 11:27By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.
- 1 John 4:6We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he who is not of God heareth us not. By this we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
- 1 John 3:24And he that keepeth his commandments abideth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he gave us.
- 1 John 4:17Herein is love made perfect with us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as he is, even so are we in this world.
- 1 John 2:5but whoso keepeth his word, in him verily hath the love of God been perfected. Hereby we know that we are in him:
- 1 Corinthians 13:13But now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
Commentaries on 1 John 4:12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12No man hath seen God at any time - The very words, with the change of ̔ for , of this apostle in his gospel, John 1:18. We may feel him, though we cannot see him; and if we love one another he dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us - it has then its full accomplishment, having moulded us according to its own nature.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12No man hath seen God at any time - See the notes at John 1:18, where the same declaration occurs. The statement seems to be made here in order to introduce a remark to show in what way we may know that we have any true knowledge of God. The idea is, “He has never indeed been seen by mortal eyes. We are not, then, to expect to become acquainted with what he is in that way. But there is a method by which we may be assured that we have a true knowledge of…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-13Verses 7-13 The Spirit of God is the Spirit of love. He that does not love the image of God in his people, has no saving knowledge of God. For it is God's nature to be kind, and to give happiness. The law of God is love; and all would have been perfectly happy, had all obeyed it. The provision of the gospel, for the forgiveness of sin, and the salvation of sinners, consistently with God's glory and justice, shows that God is love. Mystery and darkness…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11-12Those who have received God’s love will also love others who belong to God. When we show love to one another, it becomes clear that we truly love God.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. God, whom no man hath seen at any time, hath appointed His children as the visible recipients of our outward kindness which flows from love to Himself, "whom not having seen, we love," compare Notes, 1Jo 4:11, 1Jo 4:19, 20. Thus 1Jo 4:12 explains why, instead (in 1Jo 4:11) of saying, "If God so loved us, we ought also to love God," he said, "We ought also to love one another." If we love one another, God dwelleth in us--for God is love; and it must…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 John 4:12
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 John 4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries